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PASADENA, Calif. - UCLA was talking national championship two weeks ago
after moving up to third in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

Now, the reeling Bruins are faced with trying to avoid a third consecutive
loss without their best player against perhaps the finest team they'll meet
all season.

"It's better to have had your hopes raised than never to have had them,"
said coach Bob Toledo, whose team won't have running back DeShaun Foster in
the lineup Saturday against Oregon at the Rose Bowl. "I'm proud of the
things we've accomplished, I'm disappointed in the things we haven't
accomplished.

"There are a lot of teams that would have been happy to be where we were and
where we're at."

Racked with injuries recently, the Bruins received another blow Wednesday
when it was announced Foster, a senior who leads the Pac-10 in rushing and
touchdowns, wouldn't play against Oregon for violating the NCAA's "extra
benefits" rule.

Foster, the nation's third-leading rusher with 1,109 yards on 216 carries
(138.6-yard average) and tied for 10th in scoring with 13 touchdowns for 78
points (9.8-point average), will be ineligible for at least one game.

Sophomore Akil Harris, who has gained 144 yards on 19 carries, will start in
Foster's place, and redshirt freshman Manuel White, who has gained 153 yards
on 30 carries, will also play.

Toledo expressed disappointment over the situation, and so did Oregon coach
Mike Bellotti.

"I think it's too bad," Bellotti said. "Obviously, you hate to see those
things happen. There's a certain part of me that says we want to play and
take on their best. It takes something away from the game."

A crowd of over 80,000 is expected as No. 7 Oregon tries to remain in the
national championship picture and No. 17 UCLA attempts to win for the first
time since beating California 56-17 on Oct. 20.

Oregon is also shooting for its second unbeaten season on the road since
1963. The Ducks, 4-0 in away games, went 5-0 on the road six years ago.

The game had the earmarks of one of the season's best before No. 16 Stanford
came along, beating the Ducks 49-42 on Oct. 20 and the Bruins 38-28 the
following weekend.

Oregon (8-1, 5-1 Pac-10) has bounced back with a 24-17 win at No. 11
Washington State and a 42-24 triumph over Arizona State, while UCLA (6-2,
3-2) lost its second straight last Saturday, a 20-14 setback at Washington
State.

Led by quarterback Joey Harrington, the explosive Ducks have one of the
country's most potent offenses, averaging 37.3 points per game.

And with linebacker Robert Thomas leading the way, the Bruins possess one of
the top defenses, allowing an average of 16.9 points.

"They have a couple good running backs, a great receiver, good quarterback,"
Thomas said. "They're very balanced, we can't just focus on the pass. We
have to stay after them, be aggressive."

Of Harrington, Thomas said: "He has a lot of confidence, he's going good.
He's going to come out and give us his `A' game. We've got to get after him,
show him different coverages, mix it up on them."

Harrington passed for 319 yards and a school record-tying six touchdowns
against ASU. Overall this season, he's completed 162 of 277 for 2,115 yards
and 22 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Onterrio Smith, who gained a school-record 285 yards at Washington State,
has rushed for 933 yards on 138 carries, and Maurice Morris, expected to
play after missing the ASU game with a strained hamstring, has picked up 729
yards on 140 carries.

Thomas made 18 tackles at Washington State in a game where the Bruins
allowed only 276 yards of total offense to a team averaging a
conference-leading 480.1 yards beforehand.

"If there is a team that's built to play us, it's probably UCLA," Harrington
said. "As a collective group, it's the most talented defense we've seen."